Joys and Concerns

Well, I've been trying to find a spare moment to post here for ages, and tonight's the night! My baby brother (who is not a baby at all) has just got back from America, where he's just spent his summer, and has come to visit but is currently asleep on the sofa beside me. Phil is upstairs with swine flu (which he wishes he'd waited until next week to catch as this is the last week of his holidays) and the children are - for a short while, at least - both asleep! So, not to push my luck or induce guilt that I'm not using this time to work, I'm going to get on with my current joys and concerns.

Joys:
We've done some lovely things this summer
I feel very blessed to have such a wonderful family
My doula training course is already proving an incredible experience and we've barely started
I have read a lot lately
I've done some writing recently
I had a little time to do some crafty things this week
We visited my Grandparents this week and they are very well and happy
The No-Cry Sleep Solution is helping me feel more positive about our nighttime situation!

Concerns
My sister and her partner's best friend was found dead in his flat yesterday. He was 25. No words are enough.
Chloe is still unhappy and it terrifies me when I can't reach her.
I was expecting an all-clear from the hospital but have been called back for a further appointment, which is making me anxious.

None of the usual rubbish seems to matter much in light of my first concern. I only met him a few times. He epitomised 'live fast, die young'. Everyone is in shock right now and the utter devastation left behind him is vast - he was his parents' only child. I can't get them out of my head. Or my baby sister, who's partner is unpredictable and doesn't deal with emotions very productively. I just spoke to her and she sounds stunned and very, very wobbly. They don't even know what happened yet, it's just so very sad.

What a way to get back to posting. I guess I just needed to put this somewhere, and I'm sorry this isn't uplifting like the J&C thread usually is. Normal service will resume soon.